Equipment

The Equipment sphere handles what equipment you are trained to use and how you use it. When you first gain the Equipment sphere, choose one Equipment talent of your choice and gain it for free.

Some talents are marked (discipline). These talents grant groups of weapons with shared thematic roots that may be very different mechanically but are generally presented as being complementary in some way. Whenever a talent or ability refers to a weapon discipline, it refers to all weapons included in any single discipline talent.

Equipment Talents

Armor Training

You gain proficiency with light armor and medium armor. If you are already proficient with light armor, you instead gain proficiency with medium armor and heavy armor. You may take this talent up to two times.

Armored Defense

Arcane Armor

When wearing armor or using shields you are proficient with, decrease your total chance of arcane spell failure by 10%. You may take this talent multiple times, decreasing your chance of arcane spell failure by 10% each time (minimum 0).

Balanced Defense

While wielding a light or one-handed weapon and nothing in any other hand you possess, you gain a +1 shield bonus to AC. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this bonus increases by +1. Attacking with an off-hand weapon, making more than one natural attack on your turn, or using abilities such as a monk’sflurry of blows or a magus’ spell combat suppresses this bonus until the start of your next turn.

Craftsman

You are skilled at crafting and repairing gear. When you first gain this ability, you gain ranks in a single Craft skill of your choice equal to your total Hit Dice; whenever you gain a Hit Die (such as when you gain a level) you gain an additional rank. If you already possess ranks in this Craft skill, you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining this talent, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature. When crafting a mundane item, you may do so in half the usual time.

Critical Genius

You may select 1 weapon with which you are proficient (including unarmed strike), treating that weapon as though its critical threat range was 19-20 (unless it would be higher) and its critical multiplier as though it was x2 (even if it would normally be higher). In addition, when you confirm a critical hit with the chosen weapon while using the attack action, you deal additional damage equal to your base attack bonus; this additional damage is applied after other modifiers and is not multiplied by the critical hit. At +10 base attack bonus, the chosen weapon’s critical threat range is instead treated as 18-20.

Crushing Thrower

You may choose to treat your ranged attacks with thrown weapons as melee attacks, using your melee attack bonus, including Strength bonus, feats, and other modifiers to determine your attack bonus as normal, but applying standard modifiers for range penalties. Attacking into melee, through cover, and other situations that penalize ranged attacks incurs the standard penalties. In addition, you may apply 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus to damage if you wield the thrown weapon with two hands, and you can use the Power Attack feat with your thrown weapon attacks.

Dual Blade Savant

You may separate or rejoin a dual blade as a free action and do not treat each separate blade of a dual blade’s weapon’s enhancement bonuses as being reduced by 1 when you split it into two separate weapons.

Duelist’s Grip

Whenever you wield a melee weapon other than a natural attack in only one hand and make no attacks using any other hand or natural attack you possess, you apply 1 and 1/2 times your Strength bonus to damage rolls with it instead of just your Strength bonus.

Expert Reloading

Whenever you reload a ranged weapon with which you are proficient, you may decrease the required time; hand and light crossbows become free actions, heavy crossbows and one-handed firearms become move actions, and two-handed firearms become standard actions. If you possess the Crossbow Mastery feat, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when reloading any crossbow. Associated Feat:Rapid Reload.

Finesse Fighting

You may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier when calculating your melee attack rolls with light weapons and weapons with the finesse weapon special feature. You may take this talent a total of two times. If taken a second time, whenever you make an attack using your Dexterity bonus on attack rolls and your Strength bonus on melee damage rolls, you may also add 1/2 your base attack bonus (minimum 1) as a bonus on that damage roll. Associated Feat: Weapon Finesse.

Gauntlet Shield

You may treat a cestus, gauntlet, or spiked gauntlet as a buckler, gaining the +1 shield bonus to AC as normal for a buckler. The weapon’s enhancement bonus to attack and damage also applies to the shield bonus granted by the weapon. You lose this bonus if you attack with the weapon or wield another weapon in the same hand unless you possess an ability to retain your shield bonus when making a shield bash attack, such as the Bashing Shield talent of the Shield sphere or the Improved Shield Bash feat. Making an attack with this weapon may count as making a shield bash if beneficial.

Garrote Grappler

You treat garrotes as possessing the finesse weapon special feature. As an attack action, you may make a grapple check to initiate a grapple using a garrote against any target within reach, not just helpless or unaware targets. If successful, you deal your garrote damage to the target. You do not take the -4 penalty for not having two hands free on this check. When you use the choke option when making a grapple check, you may inflict garrote damage in addition to the effects of the choke. The garrote damage referenced in this ability includes your Strength modifier as appropriate to a two handed weapon as well as any enhancement and other bonuses. Damage from this talent does not stack with damage from the constrict universal monster ability.

Gun Kata

While wielding a firearm, you can still make unarmed strikes with the hands used to wield it (these attacks do not provoke attacks of opportunity if you are not proficient with unarmed strikes); if you do, your unarmed strikes made with any hand wielding a firearm gain any enhancement bonuses to attack or damage rolls your firearm possesses (this bonus cannot exceed +5). When using the attack action to make a successful attack with your unarmed strike against a creature, or when you succeed at a melee attack with a double weapon that is part melee weapon and part firearm (such as the axe musket or daggerpistol) using the attack action, as a swift action you can make a ranged attack with a -2 penalty against the same creature with your firearm or the firearm portion of your weapon; this attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Mechanical Savant

When you make a successful ranged attack with an attack action, an attack of opportunity, or additional attacks granted by class features or talents while wielding a crossbow or firearm, you deal additional damage equal to 1/2 your base attack bonus (minimum 1).

Polearm Mastery

When wielding a reach weapon, you may attack targets within your natural reach, but suffer a -2 penalty when doing so. At +10 base attack bonus, you also threaten all squares within your natural reach when wielding a reach weapon, but still suffer a -2 penalty to attacks of opportunity made in this fashion.

Shield Expert

You increase the shield bonus to AC of any shield you wield by +1. When your base attack bonus reaches +8 you lower the armor check penalty of any shield you wield by 1. For every 8 points of base attack bonus you gain thereafter, you reduce the armor check penalty of your wielded shields by a further 1 (this cannot reduce your armor check penalty below 0). Associated Feat: Shield Focus.

Shortbow Mastery

You have learned to take advantage of the shortbow’s short draw length to make more frequent attacks. Whenever you use the attack action with a shortbow, you may spend a swift action to make an additional ranged attack at a -5 penalty.

Sling Combatant

You may make melee attacks with a loaded sling, threatening an area as appropriate. Making attacks in this fashion does not use up ammunition. Also, when making attacks in this fashion, your sling gains the trip and disarm weapon special features. Treat a loaded double sling as a double weapon. Associated Feat: Sling Flail.

Splitshot

Whenever you make an attack action with a bow, you can load two arrows and fire them as part of the same attack. When making an attack action in this fashion, your attack suffers a -2 penalty, but can target two adjacent creatures. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, the targets may be +5 ft. away from each other and still be viable targets, so long as their distance from each other is not greater than the distance from you to either of them. If combined with a barrage, only the actual attack action is split, not the extra attacks.

Staff Mastery

You can wield a quarterstaff as a one-handed weapon or as a reach weapon. At the start of your turn, you decide whether or not you are going to wield the quarterstaff as a one-handed weapon, two-handed weapon double weapon, or two-handed reach weapon. When you wield it as a one-handed weapon, your other hand is free. You cannot use a staff as a double weapon if you are wielding it as a reach weapon or a one-handed weapon. In your hands, a quarterstaff is treated as a trip weapon.

If you possess the Spear Dancer talent as well, a quarterstaves is treated as a finesse weapon in your hand, and you may wield a quarterstaff as a one-handed reach weapon. Additionally, spears and polearms gain the trip weapon special feature in your hands. Associated Feat: Quarterstaff Master.

Steady Shooting

You have mastered techniques for making firearms more reliable and accurate at the expense of power. When firing a firearm as an attack action, you may ignore its misfire chance, but the weapon targets normal AC instead of touch AC. When firing a firearm in this manner, treat its range increment as 10 ft. longer than it actually is, plus an additional 10 ft. for every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess.

Throwing Mastery

When using an attack action, attack of opportunity, or additional attack granted by class features or talents to make a ranged attack against a creature with a thrown weapon, you may apply extra spin to the throw, causing the weapon to bounce back towards you after the attack resolves. As long as you have at least one hand free, you may automatically catch a weapon after it rebounds in this manner, otherwise the weapon lands in your square (or the nearest legal square beneath you if you are flying, levitating, or otherwise not standing on the ground).

Thrower’s Reflexes

Once per round when you would normally be hit with an attack from a ranged weapon, you may instead expend your martial focus and choose to catch the weapon. You must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed, and you must have at least one hand free. Attempting to catch a ranged attack doesn’t count as an action. You cannot catch an attack that is from a weapon sized for a creature more than one size category larger than you are. Ranged attacks generated by natural attacks or spell effects can’t be caught. Associated Feat: Catch Arrows.

Tower Shield Mastery

You may ignore the attack penalty for attacking while carrying a tower shield. You can also bash with a tower shield, dealing 1d8 bludgeoning damage with it (1d6 Small). You and others modifying or enchanting a shield you possess may treat tower shields as heavy shields for the purposes of enchantments (such as bashing) and shield spikes. Additionally, any tower shield you are wielding has its maximum Dexterity bonus increased by 1 and its armor check penalty reduced by 1, +1 for every every 5 base attack bonus you possess.

Unarmored Training

Your deft movements, physical conditioning, and expert use of your chosen weapons allow you to create a protective barrier around yourself as effective as any true suit of armor. When unarmored and unencumbered, you gain a +3 armor bonus to your AC. This bonus increases by +1 for every 3 points of base attack bonus you possess. Characters who gain Acrobatics as a class skill may instead choose to have the armor bonus increase by +1 for every 3 ranks in the Acrobatics skill they possess.

This bonus to AC applies even against touch attacks or when you are flat-footed. You lose these bonuses when you are immobilized or helpless, when you wear any armor, or when you carry a medium or heavy load. These bonuses do not stack with the AC bonus class feature of the monk or similar abilities.

This bonus depends on an intricate awareness of the practicioner’s body and balance, and as such is lost when the target is under any shapeshift other than blank form, or is polymorphed into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type.

Unorthodox Firing

You may fire any ranged weapon while prone. Additionally, you may use a leg in place of a hand when wielding a ranged weapon, although you must still use at least one hand to fire the weapon and suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls while using a foot in this manner. This can allow you to fire the weapon in situations where two hands are not available, such as when hanging from a rope, grappling a creature, or in other, similar situations.

Versatile Shield

Whip Fiend

You can deal lethal damage with a whip and can also damage creatures regardless of their armor or natural armor bonus. In addition, you threaten all spaces within 5 ft. of yourself and do not provoke an attack of opportunity while making an attack with a whip.

As a standard action, you may use your whip to manipulate an unattended object up to 15 ft. away as if you were adjacent to it. You are limited to manipulations you could accomplish in a single move action using only one hand.

Discipline Talents

Archery Bash (discipline)

You are considered proficient with using a bow, crossbow, or firearm as an improvised melee weapon, and any enhancement bonus to these weapons applies to your attack and damage rolls while using them as an improvised weapon. You suffer no penalty to attacks with these weapons due to using them as an improvised weapon, provoke no attacks of opportunity when using them as a melee weapon, and threaten the area around you as you normally would when wielding a melee weapon.

Bushido Training (discipline)

Custom Training (discipline)

Select 5 weapons; you gain proficiency with the selected weapons. Exotic weapons count as two weapons against your total (so you could gain 1 exotic weapon proficiency and proficiency in 3 martial or simple weapons, or proficiency in 2 exotic weapons and 1 martial or simple weapon). You may take this talent multiple times, selecting new weapons each time.

Duelist Training (discipline)

Dwarven Heritage (discipline)

You gain proficiency with the battle axe, dwarven boulder helmet, earthbreaker, greataxe, greatclub, hand axe, heavy pick, light hammer, light pick, pickaxe, throwing axe, and warhammer. You may take this talent a total of twice. If taken a second time, you also gain proficiency with the dwarven dorn duergar, dwarven double waraxe, dwarven longaxe, dwarven longhammer, dwarven maulaxe, dwarven urgosh, and dwarven waraxe.

Mechanical Training (discipline)

You gain proficiency with the battle wrench and with all crossbows, including exotic ones such as the net launcher. Crossbows that can be fired with one hand reduce the penalty for doing so by half.

Monk Weapon Training (discipline)

You gain proficiency with all weapons with the monk special feature. If you have this talent and either the brawler’s flurry or flurry of blows class feature, you may make one additional attack with a weapon in this group as a free action whenever you make an attack action with a weapon from this group or an unarmed strike, but both attacks take a -2 penalty. You must decide whether or not to use this ability before making the first attack roll for your attack action. Attacks made using this ability apply your full Strength bonus to the damage roll, regardless of whether the weapon is wielded with two hands or with an off-hand.

Peasant Training (discipline)

You are proficient at using the tools of farming, fishing, mining, and herding in war. You gain proficiency with the ankus, crook, fishing tackle, handaxe, heavy pick, light hammer, light pick, machete, net, pickaxe, scythe, and trident.

Rock Toss (discipline)

As long as you have martial focus, you can catch thrown or falling rocks (or projectiles of similar shape) that are no larger than your current size. Once per round, when you would normally be hit by a rock, you can make a Reflex save to catch it as a free action. The DC is 25 for a rock of your current size, -5 for each size category it is smaller than you. If the projectile has a magical bonus on attack rolls, the DC increases by that amount. You must be aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.

Additionally, you are considered proficient with thrown rocks. You can hurl rocks of up to two size categories smaller than you. A “rock” is any large, bulky, and relatively regularly shaped object made of any material with a hardness of at least 5.

You can hurl the rock as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10 ft. +10 per size category it is smaller than you. Tiny rocks deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage, Small 1d8, Medium 2d6, and Large 3d6. As long as you have martial focus and a suitable rock is within your reach, you may pick them up as part of your attack. At 7th and 14th base attack bonus, increase the maximum size rock you may throw by one size category, to a maximum equal to your current size.

If this attempt is successful, the creature is dragged into a square adjacent to you as long as there is an unobstructed path between yourself and the creature (this talent fails if you are not standing on solid ground as well as if there is not enough solid ground adjacent to you to accommodate the creature you are repositioning, and this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity).

Oversized Weapons

You may wield weapons sized for creatures 1 size larger than yourself without increasing the effort required (i.e., you do not increase the weapon’s category by 1 step from light to one-handed, one-handed to two-handed, etc.), though you still suffer a -2 penalty on attack rolls with the oversized weapon. In addition, you may treat two handed weapons of your normal size as one-handed weapons and may treat one-handed weapons of your normal size as light weapons, but suffer a -2 penalty to attack rolls made while doing so. These penalties are doubled when making a full attack action.

Stable Shooter

If you are proficient with the culverin or gastraphetes, you are always treated as though it was supported or mounted and may reload these weapons while prone, although you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls with these weapons when using them with this talent. This penalty is doubled when making a full attack action with weapons wielded with this talent.

Sword Shooter

You may treat lances, longswords, and spears as ammunition for longbows, shortbows, light crossbows, and heavy crossbows, being able to draw and load them as though they were ammunition (although they are not destroyed after hitting a target). Using these weapons as ammunition deals additional damage equal to the weapon’s damage die (this additional damage is not multiplied on a critical hit) and you take a -2 penalty on attack rolls made while using these weapons as ammunition.

If you possess the Barroom sphere, you may use this talent with improvised weapons (you may not use an improvised weapon which would require more than one hand for you to wield). This penalty is doubled when making a full attack action while using these weapons as ammunition.

If you possess the Ceaseless Ammo talent, you may use it with the listed weapons, although the same limitations apply, and if you possess the Ranged Impale talent, you may use it with this talent.